Otto and Joel came out of the master bedroom, and their whole attitude had changed.
"We agree to walk away with nothing!"
Amelia spread the agreement in front of them. "Then sign it."
Otto and Joel read it over carefully, and each signed his name.
"You need to sign this too."
Amelia handed them two more documents, notarized powers of attorney. The named agent on both was our lawyer.
Otto asked, "What's this?"
"Once you sign this, if anything comes up down the line, you just send my lawyer in your place. It's easier for both sides. You don't want us coming to you every time there's some little thing to deal with, do you?"
Joel asked, "So you mean, from now on we don't have to show up for anything? Someone else can go for us?"
"That's right."
Joel signed without a second thought.
Otto tensed. "Son, why'd you just sign it? What if something—"
"Oh, what could possibly happen? The two of them aren't that clever."
Amelia took Otto's copy back. "You don't have to sign. If something really does come up, I'll just come straight to you."
Joel snatched the document back out of her hand.
"Dad, just sign it already. If she actually starts coming to you, Mom's going to be upset."
Otto still had his doubts, but in the end he signed the power of attorney too.
After they left, Amelia and I both laughed.
Amelia held up the two notarized powers of attorney. "We've got both their IDs, and now with these, we don't need either of them present to transfer the properties. The houses go straight into our names, yours and mine."
I couldn't help laughing. "This time they're the ones who'll be left with nothing."
The subtitles started scrolling again.
"Brett and Joel were running from creditors when their car went into the river and they drowned. The people they owed never got their money back. Millions, just gone."
"A lot of those people had lent them their life savings. Brett and Joel said they were putting it into investments, but it all went to Darlene and Zoe to blow through."
"That mother and daughter, coasting on a pretty face, ruined how many innocent families!"
Amelia looked at me, her eyes sharp and bright.
"Lindsay, looks like we'd better hurry up and let those creditors know Brett and Joel are back among the living!"
A month later, Amelia and I got our divorce decrees without a hitch.
The first thing we did after the divorce was head to the county recorder's office to report the deeds lost and have them reissued.
Then we brought in Otto and Joel's designated agent and transferred both properties into our names.
Right after that we went to the trust company and redeemed the entire trust held under Otto's and Joel's names.
When the twenty million landed in the account, the relief Amelia and I felt was hard to put into words.
Then we listed both penthouses online, priced below market, and buyers turned up fast.
All of it took us just five days.
Amelia and I stood there holding the twelve million from the sales plus the twenty million from the redeemed trust, thirty-two million in all, grinning ear to ear.
"Mom, the buyers will be moving in any day now, and they'll throw all four of those lowlifes out."
"Then those four will realize something's wrong and rush to check on the trust."
Amelia picked it up. "Only the trust was redeemed long ago. The money's already in our pockets."
"With nowhere left to go, they'll have to move back into the old Swanson family house. And the moment they do, the creditors will come knocking!"
